U.S. Hands Off Syria, End the Sanctions Now

Thousands of Syrian citizens wave their national flags during a pro-government demonsration in Damascus

The United States and its Western allies, along with reactionary pro-U.S. Arab regimes in the Middle East, are doing everything in their power to bring down the government of Syria. They have imposed sanctions that harm the Syrian people. They interfere in Syria’s internal affairs, with the aim of spreading disorder and chaos. Behind these attacks there is the steady drumbeat threatening foreign military intervention.

Like the U.S./NATO war on Libya, the reasons for imperialism’s ongoing assault on Syria’s government have nothing do with human rights. In fact, the U.S. government has shown time and time again that it couldn’t care less about human rights, or for that matter human life. One million plus lives were lost in Iraq. The Pentagon uses drones on the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. Thousand have died. American tax dollars sponsor death squads in Colombia and finance the occupation of Palestine. From New York to Los Angles, police have been brought in to repress the Occupy movement. The U.S. government has no right to lecture anyone, anywhere, anytime about human rights.

What Washington does care about is controlling the resources of the Middle East. Syria stands in the way of the Western empire builders, so they have determined that the government of Syria must go. It’s really that simple.

Syria plays a positive role in the Middle East. Its people and government are supportive of the struggle to free Palestine and assist the patriotic forces in Lebanon. Syria opposes Zionism and imperialism. The point here is not that the government of Syria is perfect or without fault. The point is this: It would be a sad setback for the collective efforts of the Arab peoples to achieve national liberation if Syria was pushed into a civil war, or delivered into the hands of those who have sold their soul’s to Washington and the West.

It’s important for the anti-war movement in this country to learn from what happened in Libya – where the United States and NATO rained down death and destruction on the Libyan people.

We should oppose the sanctions on Syria. Sanctions pave the way to war. We should support an independent Syria and demand the U.S. stop its interference in Syria’s internal affairs. And we should raise our voices against any attempt use military force, be it by the U.S., the European powers or their proxies, against Syria. Those who want peace with justice cannot do otherwise.